Referring to FIG. 1, a nacelle 100 of an aircraft may be used to house an engine. The nacelle 100 may be composed of multiple components, such as for example a thrust reverser 102 and a fan cowl 106.
As shown in FIG. 1, the profile of the nacelle 100 may include complex shapes or contours, based on one or more requirements. In this respect, U.S. patent application publication number 2015/0041059 (hereinafter the '059 publication) describes techniques for arranging a corner fitting between, and attaching the corner fitting to, an inner barrel and a bifurcation panel. For example, and referring to FIG. 3 (substantially reproduced from the '059 publication), a thrust reverser half 330 is shown which exposes a one half section 332 of an inner fixed structure (IFS) formed in two “clam-shell” halves, only one clam-shell half being shown. The IFS section 332 has a forward end 334 and an aft end 336. The IFS is composed of an exterior stiffening member 335, an upper stiffening member 362, an inner IFS wall 350 that encases the engine, and a lower stiffening structure 366. The inner IFS wall 350 is composed of an upper bifurcation wall portion 342, a lower bifurcation wall portion 344 and inner acoustic barrel portion 346 formed between the two wall portions 342, 344. The IFS halves 332 are connected together by latches 338 at the bottom and hinged to a pylon at the top. Bumpers 340 provide a structural bridge between the gaps that separate the two IFS halves 332. The structural bridge provides a hoop load path to resist the crushing pressure of a fan air stream upon the barrel sections and bifurcations.
As made clear by the '059 publication, it can be difficult to manufacture a nacelle to accommodate the various shapes/geometries, such as for example corners/transitions that are associated with the nacelle (or a component thereof). Additionally, loads need to be controlled/distributed. All other things being equal, the greater the load within a given envelope, the greater the weight of the components that need to be used. The use of heavier components increases the weight of the aircraft, thereby decreasing the efficiency (e.g., fuel efficiency) of the aircraft.